Winter, Again
by tsuki akari
Summary: Viktor takes time out from the New Year's festivities to reminisce about his past, to his short but sweet memories of Daisy...
1. White Void

Author's Notes & Disclaimer:  Genso Suikoden belongs to Konami.  This story is based on the song "Winter, Again" by Glay (though not exactly a song fic).  When I heard this song, the only thing I could imagine was Viktor standing all alone on a snowy hill… So this fic is about Viktor, and I wanted to explore his private thoughts and his relationship with Daisy in the past.  I've only played the Suikoden PS games, so I dunno if the Viktor-Daisy past has already been tackled in the Suikoden novels or Suikogaiden… Anyway, this is what I think happened.  Hope you like it. ^_^  I'll put the English translation of the song (a friend of mine gave them to me) at the end of the story.  Oh yeah, the castle is Genkaku Castle.

------------------------

Winter, Again

==========================================================

Chapter 1: White Void 

==========================================================

Leona's Tavern

New Year's Eve

In Solis 461

The tavern was bustling with laughter and high spirits on the cold winter night, with the clatter of plates and glasses echoing throughout the place.  It seemed like everyone in the whole castle was gathered here at Leona's, eating, drinking and being merry for the victory of the Genkaku Army, and in anticipation of the coming new year.  Leona had brought out her stocks of Kanakan wine for the celebration, for free, to the delight of many.

"Aah, nothing like a nice glass of wine to end a busy day," Ridley sighed, taking a sip from his glass.

"I agree, General Ridley," Shu replied, his cheeks already quite rosy from only half a glass.  "Strategists have to take breathers once in a while, too."

Tai Ho approached the bar.  "Er, Leona?  Can I have a bottle to go?"  He looked a little anxious as his gaze shifted all around the room.  Leona nodded and entered the stockroom.

Amada came up to Tai Ho and gave him a jovial slap on the back, with a mug of mead in the other hand.  "Tai Ho, man, THIS is there it's at!  You and Yam Koo should stay here and kick back a little!" he urged in a voice much louder than usual.

Tai Ho sighed.  "Yes, that would be nice, but… I – I can't.  My wif—friend, I mean, my friend from Kaku just surprised me with a visit…" Leona came out and handed him a bottle. "…and I'm afraid there's no escaping it.  Hehe…" he smiled meekly.

"Okay, okay," Amada laughed as Tai Ho waved goodbye and started walking away.  "But you don't know what you're missing!" he called after him.

"Boy, do I ever…" Tai Ho muttered as he exited the tavern.

"Wine?  For you?  I don't know… the taste may be a little strong for someone like you," Leona said to the blonde girl as she wiped the counter.

"I can take it!  C'mon, this stuff only happens once a year!"  Nina pleaded.  "And I want Sir Flik to notice how grown-up I am!"  She grinned, glancing at the blue-clad man sitting at a table across the room.

"Hmm, I don't think you have a right idea…but what the heck.  It's New Year's Eve."  Leona smiled and poured Nina a glass.  "So what's your plan?"

"Well," Nina picked up the glass, "I walk past Sir Flik's table really gracefully, and sip my wine like so…" She put the glass to her lips and drank the red liquid.  Suddenly her face scrunched up and she stuck her tongue out with an "Eyucch!"

Leona chuckled, looking at Flik's table.  "Well, that's certainly one way to get Flik's attention…"

---------

"Aaagh…" Viktor exhaled loudly and slammed his empty mug onto the table.  He sat still for a moment, staring at a drop of beer trickling down the side of the mug.

_~It's winter again… cold, and lonely…~_

"Something on your mind, Viktor?" Flik asked from across the table, sipping his tea.  He sat back in his chair, folding his arms over his chest.  "You don't look like your usual self."

 "Hahaha, look who's talking!  What's with the tea, Flik?  You don't drink tea," Viktor responded, hoping to replace himself as the subject of conversation.

_~You don't have to bother with my troubles, Flik…~_

Flik smiled.  "Yeah, I know.  After the mistake earlier this afternoon of telling Apple I had a headache, she insisted that I pay a visit to Dr. Huan.  He recommended some lychee tea after every meal."  He took another sip of the light, hot liquid.  "It's supposed to cleanse my body and soul."

"And there's another bonus to drinking lychee tea," Leona suddenly appeared, placing a dish of gyoza on their table.  "Your skin becomes as soft and smooth as a young school girl's!"  She reached up and patted his cheek, already bright red from embarrassment, and smiled.  She walked away, laughing.

Flik scratched his head and laughed meekly.  "Just when you think you can't get any prettier…" he joked.

Viktor chuckled at his 'modesty.'  "You are so full of it."  They both laughed.

"But seriously, Viktor," Flik turned to look at his friend intently.  "What's up?"

_~I hate it when people look at me like that~_

"I'm okay, Flik," Viktor insisted and quickly looked away.  Realizing that his actions only increased his friend's suspicion, he added, "It's just a bit stuffy in here."  For once, all the noise and smoke in the tavern was making him suffocate.  "I think I'll take a walk for a while."  He pushed away from the table and stood up.

Flik nodded and continued to stare as the burly warrior grabbed his cloak and walked out of the tavern without looking back.

"It's her, isn't it," Flik said quietly, "I know how you feel, Viktor."

---------

Viktor stepped out of the warmth of Leona's tavern and onto the chilly street.  He pulled his cloak around his shoulders and exhaled, his breath forming a white mist.  The weather was a lot colder than the year before, he noticed.

He started walking slowly, with no particular destination in mind.  Putting his hands in his pockets, he gazed around him at the rows of houses radiating warmth and laughter from the inside.  Once in a while, a couple of people shuffled down the road, being heartily greeted by their family and friends upon entering their houses.  Viktor smiled at this—a painful smile, feeling a twinge of nostalgia.

_~It's such a coincidence… that my journey started here years ago, and this is where I've ended up… North Window~_

He shook his head.

_~No, Genkaku Castle is its name now.  We've defeated Luca Blight, we've won the war, and a stop has finally been put to Neclord…~_

Snow fell lightly from the pitch-black sky, gently caressing his tanned face.  He stopped and looked behind him, the snow, like diamonds, slowly covering his path in a glittering whiteness.  A faint image of a young girl with black hair appeared in the midst of the whirling snowflakes, giving him a soft smile.

_~But this peace, all this celebration…only makes me feel incomplete…~_


	2. Arrival

Stuff:  I don't own suikoden, and thanks to suikosource for helping me give my fic some accuracy…. ^_^;

Winter, Again 

            Viktor smiled back at the translucent figure.  How he longed to reach out to just, even for a second, touch her soft hand…But he couldn't.  Because she wouldn't feel it as well.

            ~She's so beautiful. Just like that first day…~

========================================================

Chapter 2: Arrival 

========================================================

North Window

Winter

In Solis 437

"Yargh!  Take that, you Highland scum!"  Viktor, in a loose-fitting leather armor and hat, lunged at a chubby brown-haired boy.  The two boys were spending the boring afternoon dueling on Viktor's snow-covered front yard.

"Not fair!" wailed Kyte, Viktor's good friend.  "Why must I always be the Highlander?!"  The little boy looked like he was about to cry.

"Because I said so, Kyte!"  Viktor ordered.  He was quite tall for his eight years, and skinny too, emphasized by his father's huge armor.  "Besides, I've already been the Highlander."  He held out his cardboard sword and started waving it at his friend, trying to coax him to continue playing.

"Yeah, once," Kyte pouted.  He folded his arms across his chest and sat on the front step of Viktor's stone house.  

Viktor sighed and sat down beside him.  "At least it's better than baby-sitting my bratty brother," he gestured towards his house.  "All Wil does is cry, eat, cry, sleep, and cry!"  

As if on cue, a baby's wail pierced their ears, followed by a gentle, "Hush, hush, Wil…" Viktor rolled his eyes as if to say, "See what I mean?"  Kyte laughed in agreement, his round cheeks rosy from the crisp winter breeze.

"Oh hey, my father's returning tomorrow from Muse," Kyte said excitedly, not noticing the frown that crept onto Viktor's face.

_~Your father…~_

Kyte continued, "I can't wait!  My dad's going to have so many adventures and stories to tell."

"Yeah, I guess so," Viktor grumbled, trying not to meet Kyte's gaze.  He stared at the setting sun on the horizon.  How often he's sat in this same spot, watching the other boys walking by, all bragging about how their fathers were heroes in battle. Viktor could never relate… he could barely even remember his father's face.  He only remembered his mother's anguished look when the soldiers gave news of his death.  Although at the time, he was too young to comprehend what they told her, all he needed to understand was the expression on his mother's face…and he knew.  His mother had started to cry, and he along with her, and the baby inside her womb would have felt the sadness as well.  For many nights he had trouble sleeping, the sounds of his mother's weeping repeating in his mind and even in his dreams.   He couldn't understand why his father had to die, leaving his mother alone…leaving him alone.

_~I-I…wonder what it's like… to have a father~ _

Just then, the front door swung open.  Standing at the doorway in a yellow housedress and apron was Viktor's mother, Helen.  "Viktor, sweetie, it's getting dark," she smiled at the two boys looking up at her.  "Come in and wash up, or you might catch a cold.  You too, Kyte."  The wind started to blow harder as the boys reluctantly shuffled inside the house.

-------------

Viktor sat silently at the dinner table, staring at his grilled beef and fried rice.  Beside him, Kyte was gobbling up everything in his bowl, filling his cheeks with as much food as humanly possible.  Viktor stared blankly across the candles on the table at his mother helping his four-year old brother with his food.

~Mom… after that day, she was different.  She became quieter, and she kept telling me to be strong…~

"What's wrong, Viktor?  Why aren't you eating?  Your mother cooks the best beef!"  Kyte asked in between bites.  He looked at his friend, his brow slightly furrowed.

_~Don't look at me like that~_

"I'm not hungry," Viktor just stared as his bowl.  Then he forced a smile and a laugh.  "I guess I'm still full from lunch!  Hehe…" He turned his head to the right, away from Kyte, to the falling snow outside the window.  Something about snow always captivated him; it just looked so beautiful.

A heavy knock on the door startled them all.  Viktor could see his mother look up in slight surprise, and she went to the door behind him to open it.

"Oh, Timothy, what brings you here?" he heard her say.  "Viktor, your uncle Tim is here."

"Hello, nee-chan," Viktor's uncle stood under the doorframe.  "I hope I'm not imposing…Hey, how's the big man of the house doing, Viktor?" he gave a jolly wave to his nephew, who gave a small smile in reply.  "Been taking care of your mother and brother?"

"Yes sir," Viktor nodded.

"Tim," Helen chuckled lightly as her brother stepped inside the warm house, shaking off the snow from his cloak.  That's when Viktor noticed a small figure beside his uncle, its tiny hand gripping his pants leg.

"Oh my… Where did you--?" Viktor heard his mother gasp.

Tim glanced down at the child. "It's quite sad…As our unit was heading back from Muse, we received orders to take care of a border skirmish near Highland.  We came across a caravan at the side of the road…and we found this little girl, crying."  He lowered his voice to just above a whisper, "It seemed they were passing by at the wrong time, and her parents were victims of the conflict at the border."

Helen gazed sadly at the little girl.  "Poor thing," she cooed, kneeling at the girl's feet, "You'll be alright now."  She gently brushed away stray black hairs from the girl's somber face.  She stood unmoving, staring at the ground.

_~She has no mother?… No father…~_

To everyone's surprise, Viktor slid out of his chair and approached the girl.  He had done it quite abruptly that she looked up, astonished, at the skinny boy in front of her.

"I'm Viktor," he said, his face almost expressionless, save for a glimpse of sympathy.

The girl's mouth parted in surprise, and her eyes welled with tears.  Having taken all the stress that a four-year old could take, she started sobbing, letting the tears flow freely.

Viktor's brow furrowed.  He was silently being torn apart by the scene in front of him.  Only then did he realize that his father's death those years ago wasn't in vain—this was what he was trying to prevent…

_~Don't cry…You have a new mother now.  She'll take care of you…~_

"Hungry?" Viktor meekly asked, offering his rice bowl to the girl, who was wiping away her tears.  She looked at Viktor with red, puffy eyes and nodded.

_~…And so will I~_

  



End file.
